Le Halloween

I noticed this BBC article regarding the collapse of the Halloween fad in France. I find it very interesting, although I do somewhat doubt that Halloween's unpopularity is owing to anti-Americanism in France. The surprising lack of celebration of the Fourth of July might be more directly related, but as The Economist often points out, the French are heavy consumers of American films and fast food.

There probably are good reasons for its unpopularity, and I'm sure some of them come from the artificiality of Halloween. Halloween and St. Valentine's Day both fall into this category: they are often denounced as fake holidays made up by capitalists in order to make money. However, if the holiday products were not popular, then companies would not sell them - exactly as they are doing in France!

The ultimate problem stems from the quandry of holidays. Holidays are ultimately events based on tradition or collective experiences, and so it is rather difficult to up and introduce them into new cultures, unless related to some sort of immigration or fad. Ireland is the only country that celebrates Halloween as an actual national holiday, because the Irish have maintained their connections to the holiday's Celtic roots. The English and the Americans steadily lost this connection over time, and especially in the constant churning of American society Halloween got replaced with something easy, non-religious and "safe - fun". The trick has been banned, and the treat sweetened and sold in stores. Ultimately, it is a meaningless holiday because any meaning was intentionally stripped away. In this sense, the French are right, because the only remaining value is to a specific, targeted demographic market, much like Valentine's Day, and even Christmas. Let us not forget that the old English Yule festivals never made it to America, because of the Puritans banning such pagan celebrations, and that Christmas only came to the shores of the New World because of German immigration (bringing St. Nicholas and fir trees) and a Victorian obsession with the Gothic, the archaic, and (once again) "safe-fun" for the family.

My wife remarked to me that Americans are terrible at celebrating holidays, and I must agree with her. The American idea of celebrating a holiday mostly consists of buying peripherals and decorations, and then once the holiday arrives by sitting in front of a television at home and eating. Even the parade is an increasingly rare tradition (when was the last time you went to a parade?). And as for street festivals and carnivals? Forget it: those are for immigrants or for drunken college coeds in New Orleans. In my experience, other countries seem to celebrate with more heart: I have eaten a traditional Christmas dinner at a vicarage in England, complete with hasty pudding. I have celebrated Nauryz in Kazakhstan by going to street festivals, watching live singing and dancing and horseracing, and by eating ethnic food. And the latter country is not even a rich one! I question why Americans have so much, yet celebrate so pathetically. Perhaps O. Henry was near the mark, when in one of his short stories he noted that Americans are always attempting to create new "traditions" to make up for their lack of any.

Or these days they just try to buy them. The BBC also noted that Americans are spending five times as much on Halloween as on the 2006 political campaigns. Billions and billions for cheap costumes, beer for the adults and snickers bars for the kids.

So be frightened! Eat some candy! Vivre le Halloween!